


Hit and Run (discontinued)

by purrplekat1989, summergay



Category: 30 Seconds to Mars
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-07
Updated: 2014-04-21
Packaged: 2018-01-03 21:43:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1073381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purrplekat1989/pseuds/purrplekat1989, https://archiveofourown.org/users/summergay/pseuds/summergay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shannon is in a hit and run accident that leaves him paralyzed from the hips down. The doctors say that there's little to no hope of regaining the use of his legs.</p><p>But they don't have experience with the Leto brand of stubbornness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It had started out innocent enough. Midnight Thai run. Shannon had volunteered to go pick up their order since he needed to stretch. The night’s recording session had ran way longer than the three of them had intended. But they were so close to being done… 

The streets were fairly empty. At least by LA standards, so he wasn’t exactly as on alert as he would have been during the day. One second he was crossing an intersection -it was his green- and the next there was an explosion of pain as the direction of his momentum was violently altered. Tumbling over the hood of a car, sending his bike in one direction and him in another. 

The driver didn’t even stop. 


	2. Chapter 2

“Where do you think he is?” Jared asked, looking to Tomo after checking his phone for what was probably the tenth time. “It's a ten minute trip and he's been gone forty.”

"Maybe he got talking to somebody." Tomo said, yawning a little. "Though I may go steal his coffee if he takes much longer."

"I'm going to go get him. I just have a strange feeling about all this," he muttered, standing from his spot and grabbing a bike to ride down there.

"Alright. Let me know when you find him."

The route was a familiar one and it wasn't long until he came along a crushed bike. A police car rerouting the occasional car, and another officer on hand to keep the onlookers out of the way. Recognizing the vehicle, Jared almost fell from the bike in his desperation to talk to one of the officials. "Where is he... Where's Shannon?!"

"Sir I need you to step back." one of the officers said, guiding him away a couple steps. "How do you know him?" 

"I'm his _brother_! Where the fuck is he?!" he shouted, not even looking at the man as he concentrated on looking frantically at the scene for his brother.

"The paramedics took him to the hospital about ten minutes ago." He said, dark eyes reflecting sympathy for the panicked singer. He didn't say that he thought Shannon was lucky to be alive when they'd been called.

It was then that he looked at the officer with widened eyes. "Can you drive me to the hospital?"

The man nodded, leading the way to the squad car after letting the other officers on scene know what was going on. The hospital wasn't terribly far, maybe ten minutes driving.

When he pulled in front of the doors to the emergency room, Jared dashed from the car – not even waiting for the officer to put it into park. He skidded to a stop at the desk. "Shannon Leto. Where is he?"

The nurse looked through the intake information on the computer. "He was taken into surgery about fifteen minutes ago. You'll probably want to have a seat in the waiting room, it'll be a while. I'll let them know that he's got someone waiting. Your name please?"

"Jared Leto," he answered. He wouldn't be reassured until he knew his brother would be alright. “... How bad was it?” he asked, dreading what she might have to say.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry I don't have that information."

"Fuck," he muttered, shaking his head and walking out to pace the sidewalk in hopes of clearing his head and getting some fresh air. "Breathe Jared. Breathe. He's Shannon Leto. He's going to be fine. Breathe..." the pep talk didn't seem to be working though. He closed his eyes, pausing in mid-stride. He couldn't seem to get enough air. The stress and panic was causing him to have an asthma attack, so he headed back inside. At the counter, he pointed to his throat whilst gasping for the oxygen that was eluding him. Jared just needed an inhaler, _anything_.

The nurse hurried around the desk, sitting him down, and getting an inhaler from a nearby supply rack. She squatted next to him, watching to make sure that the medicine did its job.

After a few minutes, his breathing regulated and he nodded gratefully to her. "Is it okay if I hold onto this?" There was no doubt that if he was panicking this much now, it could possibly increase later. It was all dependent on what happened with Shannon.

She nodded. "Try to relax. We wouldn't want both of you to end up in the hospital."

The musician gave her a nod, pulling his phone out to let Tomo know what had happened, and to try and distract from the agony of not knowing…


	3. Chapter 3

A few hours later a doctor came out looking for Jared.

He instantly stood at the sight of the doctor. "Are you the man who took my brother?"

The man nodded, his expression grim. "He's been moved to the ICU for recovery... He was badly injured Mr. Leto."

The solemnity gave the singer goosebumps, urgency more than anything showing on his face. He was trying to make a point to not assume anything positive or negative before he could see his brother's status. "Just show me where he is. I need to see him before you tell me anything."

"He isn't awake right now." the doctor cautioned as he led the way to Shannon's room. "And when he does wake up he'll be disoriented."

"That's fine, I just want to see that he's okay. Once I see that, you can tell me what's wrong," he said, following closely.

The doctor nodded, leading Jared down a hall, eventually stopping in front of a door labeled "Recovery ICU 4".

Jared hesitated, looking through the thin window for a second before stepping inside. He froze at the sight before him. This wasn't Shannon... Where was the smug smirk? The playful eyes? The charming laugh? The supportive hold? Finally swallowing the thick knot in his throat, he looked back to the doctor. "You said he's okay, right?"

"He'll live," was the response. "We weren't able to repair all of the damage to his spine unfortunately..."

"What... what do you mean? What's wrong with his spine?"

"He was hit by a car Mr. Leto. The accident left him with multiple fractures to his lumbar vertebra. We did what we could for him, but it's unlikely that he'll be able to walk again." The man's voice was soft as he delivered the diagnosis. The words were like a knife to Jared's heart.

" _Did what you could_." He muttered bitterly, looking away from the doctor and walking over to his brother, taking his hand and squeezing it gently. "You obviously haven't met us Leto's. He's going to wake up and get out of that bed like nothing ever happened. That's just the way Shannon is." He turned glassy eyes back to the doctor, tears refusing to fall in front of anyone but Shan. "And he'll play those fucking drums until the wood breaks. He's too stubborn to do otherwise."

The doctor nodded, recognizing the signs of grief in the younger man. "Always hold out hope for a miracle." he said, "You're welcome to stay for a while, but visiting hours aren't technically for another few hours yet. We'll be monitoring his condition closely for the next few days to make sure that there aren't any further complications that weren't immediately evident."

"So I can stay until he can leave, right?" he asked. Though if the doctor said no, he would likely do it anyway.

"You can stay for a while," the doctor repeated. "Visiting hours are from 9 to 8 every day after that though. We're going to be keeping him in a medically induced coma for a couple of days so that he won't be in any extraneous pain."

Jared nodded, though he didn't truly acknowledge him, his attention returning to his brother as he pushed his hair off of his face. "Wake up you big goof, we have shit to do. You totally owe me and Tomo some food." His voice was small and soft as he struggled to hold back the tide of emotions that were threatening to overwhelm him.

 

Time seemed to pass in intermittent spurts, one minute he would look up at the clock and only a few minutes had passed, then the next it would be two hours. He had sent messages to Tomo and his mother, letting them know what had happened. People came and went but it all blurred together for the singer.

 

Two days passed before the doctors deemed that it was alright to ease back on the medication and allow Shannon to wake up on his own. It took a few hours before he shifted, hazel eyes blinking open though he seemed to not be totally aware of his surroundings.

At the first sign of movement, Jared sat up and patted his hand. "Shan? Can you hear me?"

The drummer shifted again, turning his head toward Jared's voice to acknowledge that he'd heard him. Everything felt floaty and he wasn't sure what was going on.

"The doctor said that you'd be disoriented. Just try and relax, it'll come back to you," he murmured, his thumb brushing over his brother's palm soothingly.

"...Jay?" His voice was almost inaudible. "Where?"

"Yeah it's me. You're in the hospital. You were in an accident, Shanni." Jared's own voice was hushed as well, watching his eyes for any sort of recognizable response.

"Oh." It obviously didn't register, as he closed his eyes again. He wasn't asleep though, because his fingers tightened around Jared's a little.

"You're going to be okay though... I know you will. You're strong." He was almost more trying to convince himself of that belief. "Mama's on her way and Tomo's here too."

 

A few hours later Shannon woke again, more lucid and with a splitting headache. "S'm'one turn th'lights off?" The words were a little slurred from sleep, but everyone in the room seemed to release a long held breath.

Tomo was on it as soon as Shannon spoke, turning the dimmer to allow Jared to stay at his brother's side. Constance had taken up vigilance on his other side, toying with his hair.

He blinked his eyes open again. "Hey..." Now that he was awake, he kind of wished he wasn't. Everything hurt.

"Hey... More awake now?" Jared asked, his eyes searching his brother's for hints of anything he needed. "You're hurting, I'll get you some pain medication."

"What happened?" He asked, watching his brother retreating back for a second before turning to his mother. Something bad, obviously, for Constance to be there. Nothing good could have happened with how much he hurt right now.

"What do you remember?" Jared asked, returning with a couple pills and a bottle of water.

Shannon took the pills without comment. "Not a lot... Needing to move and going..." he trailed off, eyes narrowing a little as he went over what happened in his mind.

"To pick up food..." he continued, taking his place at Shannon's side once more. "Something happened after that."

"Obviously," he snapped, pain and frustration causing him to lash out at his brother even though he didn't mean anything by it.

The singer was unphased, he'd been expecting it if he was honest. "A fucker ran the red light and hit your bike, Shan. No one even saw the driver." His voice choked a little as he struggled to keep it together. "They broke your spine."

Shannon shifted, hissing a breath through clenched teeth at the responding wave of pain when he did. He really wanted to call bullshit, but it hurt too much not to be true. He turned his attention to his mother for comfort, suddenly looking very young and lost.

Constance moved her hand from his forehead, replacing it with her lips for a soft kiss. "Jare, do you mind if I sit there?"

He shook his head, moving away to stand by the wall with Tomo. Worry lines marring his usually placid features.

Moving to sit next to her older son, Constance offered him a warm, yet sad smile. "Honey, you're going to be okay. Just fine, but there's going to be some adjustments that you'll have to adapt to, alright?"

"Adjustments?" His thoughts were racing, a million scenarios running through his head, each one worse than the last.

"The doctors say that it's unlikely that you'll walk again baby." her voice remained soft, hoping to reduce the emotional damage that the words would inevitably cause. "But there are surgeries that can possibly help once you've healed some."

"They haven't met Shannon Leto before, mama. This is nothing he can't conquer. I know it."

Shannon turned his attention away from the others in the room. His focus narrowing to just his legs, silently willing them to move. A twitch, anything... _Please move, this can't be real._ Nothing.

The room was heavy with a tense silence so thick it seemed to weigh physically on the occupants. "Honey?" Constance asked after a moment, resting a hand on his shoulder.

He seemed to crumple under the touch, reality hitting him hard. Turning his face away, he closed his eyes, pinching his side hard. This was a terrible dream and he wanted to wake up now.

"Stop, Shannon. Stop." she warned, worry lacing her tone as she took his hand to prevent any further self-abuse. "Let it out if you need to, don't hurt yourself."

"It's not real." He said quietly before turning back to her. "I want to wake up now."

"Tomo, Jared. Could you step out please."

"But mama, I-"

"Now, Jay." Jared left with the guitarist without further protest and Constance turned her attention back to Shannon. "I'm afraid it's true."

Tears that he had been hiding while the others were in the room finally started to escape. "Mama I..." he stopped, unable to put his thoughts into words, finally settling for holding her hand even though what he really wanted was a hug and for the world to go away.

She wiped his tears and leaned down, hugging him the best that she was able from where she was. "Oh, baby I know... But you know more than most that you're above any setbacks. You're above anything that threatens you. This... Once you heal, you can possibly get some surgeries. It won't be perfect but you'll be able to walk. I know you. You'll persevere until you get it because that's how my sons work right? I love you and that will never change."

He tangled the fingers of his free hand into her shirt, shoulders shaking. When he finally was able to pull himself together some he drew a ragged breath. "When can I go home?" He sounded... lost.

"When you feel better. Then you can go home. I promise, okay? If you want, I can stay with you for a little while," she murmured, resting her hand atop his.

"Mhm..." he nodded weakly, already exhausted from the barrage of emotions and his already weakened physical state. "Love you..."

"I love you too baby boy." She cooed, kissing his forehead. "Get some sleep."


	4. Chapter 4

Two months felt longer than it should of in the wake of recuperating from such a traumatic accident. Though the drummer’s family and friends assured him that his discharge would be sooner rather than later, the amount of time that actually passed by seemed to drag into eternity.

 

Shannon hated being stuck in the hospital. But with his release imminent, he was suddenly terrified. At least within the sterile walls of the hospital, everyone knew what they were doing. They were trained. But when he left that support system would vanish. He'd have to learn to do everything all over again... even simple things like getting in and out of the car. It was terrifying. Thankfully, physical therapy was also teaching him how to start to do those things on his own, while his loved ones were in the room and instructed as to how they could help if it was needed. 

He looked up at his brother, his apprehension apparent in his eyes, even though he didn't verbalize it. "Guess we get to go now." 

"Guess we do. Mama told me you wanted her to stay?" 

"Yeah." he looked away again. "For a while anyway. I think it'll help..."

"Then either you'll be sleeping with me or she will." Jared said with a small nod. He had already packed Shannon's things away in the trunk of his car, and all that was left was to sign the discharge papers.

Shannon made a face. "She can have my bed, it's not like I can get up there anyway."

Jared nodded. "Well you know how I am when I sleep. I hope that doesn't bother you." 

"S'fine. Let's just go home," he replied, though he didn't sound exactly enthusiastic about it. It wasn't the prospect of sharing a bed with his brother that was the problem, though he knew that's probably how it came across to the singer.  

Jared nodded a little with a small frown, sighing and beginning to walk out. "If you don't want to share a bed, I can just sleep on the floor. I don't really care." 

"Don't be a dumbass. You're not sleeping on the floor," he answered, it was a feeble attempt at humor. 

Jared rubbed his brother's hair with a small smile, signing the necessary paperwork, and then going to meet their mother at the door when she brought the car around. 

Shannon smiled softly at his mom before focusing on the task at hand, jaw set as he mentally prepared for the first of MANY challenges yet to come. "I guess I'll let you drive this time," he said to Jared with a soft laugh. 

The brunet nodded and opened up the back door for him. "Mama called shotgun so you're stuck in the back this trip. Let's do this." he said, wrapping his arms around Shannon's torso and lifting him from his chair, transferring to the backseat. 

Once in, he let Jared deal with getting the chair put away, while he got himself situated. He thought about making a joke about his brother working out, but finally decided against it as he quietly buckled the belt. 

Jared left the door for Shannon to shut and got in the driver's side, not bothering to buckle the seat belt as he pulled out – though Constance reached over and did it for him. 

Shannon gave an amused snort. Jared knew better than to do that, not with their mom was around, and especially not after all that had happened recently. 

Jared gave a childish look back to his brother before pulling out into the busy LA traffic, heading toward home. 

 

Shannon was turning his chair in tight circles with a little pleased grin. He had been practicing quite a lot with maneuvering and he felt like he was getting pretty good at doing it on his own. Though his wrist still ached from time to time where it had been broken.

Jared was filling out paperwork when he noticed his brother’s shenanigans and shook his head. “Don't stress it too much, Shan.” 

"I'm okay," he assured, going over to watch him. 

He finished and looked to him, shaking his wrists from the intense writing. "Got it all. Ready to go? Need anything from here? Pain meds?"

Shannon shrugged, he disliked the way the painkillers made everything feel fuzzy. He'd rather just deal with it most of the time. "I think that there's still some at the house." 

"Alright, let's go." Jared said, pushing his sunglasses a little higher on his nose. "You want to go home, or somewhere out?" 

"Could use some lunch," Shannon said after a few seconds of silence, turning his chair in another tight circle.

"Whatcha feeling?" the younger asked, taking hold of Shannon's chair and walking them out and to the car. "We're never gonna get anywhere if you keep going in circles all the time."

He thought about it, really wanting to push himself but letting Jared do it because his wrist had started to ache again. "Something spicy." 

"Mexican sound okay? Want to try getting in yourself?" Jared asked, when they got to the car. 

"Yeah!" It was a slightly childish exclamation, but he didn't care. Once he was in the car he started tapping idly on his legs. He couldn't feel it, but old habits die hard. 

Jared put the chair up and got in the car after him, driving to the closest joint – Las Margaritas. 

When they pulled into the parking lot, Shannon unconsciously rubbed his wrist before getting into his chair. 

Jared noticed the gesture, taking hold of his chair and pushing him inside before he could bitch about it. "How's it feeling?" 

"Just sore. I'll live." 

He nodded and stepped in, getting a table and menus. "You want the spiciest thing on the menu?"

"Obviously," he laughed. "Like that's even a question."

"Alright, we'll ask the waitress when we ask what's vegetarian."

"You can usually get pretty much anything on the menu in vegetarian," he said, "just tell 'em that's what you want and they'll make it without meat."

"Yeah but who knows what the hell they cook it in," the singer shook his head. "I doubt there's anything vegan they can do here, so I won't even try." 

"Yeah. You're probably right about that." Shannon nodded. "It's not gonna make you sick or something right?" 

The brunet shook his head "Should be fine." He said, talking to the waitress when she came to get their drink orders and see if they were ready for anything more, having finally deciding on something with specific guidelines. 

Shannon rested his elbows on the table after they ordered, propping his chin on one of his palms. 

"I know it's not like me at all, but do you want to split a margarita? The past bit has been tough." 

"Sure," he said, sounding a little surprised.

"I figure it's not strong enough to do anything for me if we split just one. That way I'm not really breaking my vow." 

"If you're sure." Obviously it's more stressful on him than he's saying. Again. 

"Yeah. You like salt, right?" Jared asked, raking his fingers through his hair and taking the same position as his brother. Chin on palm, eyes searching for some unspoken something. 

"S'what makes a good margarita." he informed Jared simply. It was impossible to fathom what was going on in his head sometimes. 

Jared noticed how closely he was watching, observing, reading. The singer's eyes narrowed. "What is it?" 

Shannon was silent for several long moments before he spoke. "Are you okay?" he finally asked. 

"I'm fine. I just want half of a drink. Maybe it'll make me relax." 

"Mmkay." He'd let it go for now, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to be paying attention. When the waitress came with their food he ordered the drink before Jared got a chance to. 

"Two straws," he added, thanking her for the food and beginning to eat. "How spicy is it?" 

"Feel it tomorrow for sure." The drummer said, making a face but was pleased with the heat nonetheless. A blinding burn that allowed him to shut out his whirling thoughts for a time and just be present, talking inanities with his brother. It was something they both needed, though neither would admit it. 

"...maybe we should get a dog," Jared was saying.  

Shannon hadn't even realized he'd tuned out. "A dog?" He asked. "What brought that up?" 

Jared gave a weird half-shrug, looking away. "I saw something on TV about assistance dogs."

Shannon shrugged. "I guess we can look into it."


	5. Chapter 5

Shannon sighed quietly. "Jesus Christ. It's not even 10 in the morning yet and there's already tabloid bullshit in my email."

"What are you talking about?" Jared asked, leaning over his shoulder in bed to asses the laptop. On the screen were pictures and tabloid speculation about what happened. Guesses of everything from the car wreck to cancer to some of the more off the wall ones like alien abduction. He sighed and shook his head. "Do you mind me doing some press so they stop bugging you?"

Shannon shook his head. "I'd rather not deal with them right now anyway."

"I'll deal with them for you, then," he murmured, walking away from the bed and pulling out his blackberry to make a call.

Shannon watched him for a few seconds before finally deciding he might as well get up too. Getting into the chair was quickly becoming easier for him to do on his own, though it was still painful at times because of his arm.

Once Jared finished the call, he began changing for the day. "You don't need to come." he said, watching as Shannon got into his chair.

"No. But I need to get up at some point." Shannon replied, not really paying attention. "I want coffee."

"There should still be some in the kitchen. I'll be back later tonight, alright? Want me to pick you up anything?"

"Nah. I'll be ok here." he said, "Say hi to Tomo for me if you see him."

"Will do. Don't think he's coming though. You can invite him over if you want."

Shannon nodded, getting settled. "Thanks."

There was silence as he just looked at his brother before smiling and walking out.

 

The singer arrived home later with a weary expression on his face, sunglasses firmly settled on the bridge of his nose. "They asked any question known to man so there's no way anyone will call to ask more."

"One can only hope.” Shannon commented, looking up from where he and Tomo were seated, messing around with the guitars. “You look like you got the shit beaten out of you."

"I'm wearing sunglasses for a reason," he muttered, walking to the kitchen to fix some honey green tea. "What are you two doing?"

"The drums are a pain in the ass to set up right now." Shannon said, "So... Guitar."

"Have you come up with anything interesting?" he asked, sitting in a nearby chair once his water was ready and the tea had begun to steep.

"Not really. Tome's got a riff I think we can work with though." Shannon said, prompting their guitarist to play the riff in question.

Jared nodded. "I like that... hold on." he grabbed his own guitar from the Lab and copied the riff that Tomo had just played. "That, right?"

Tomo nodded, "You look like you've got an idea."

He smiled a little, playing it again a few times to get the hang of it before branching off to start creating the start of a melody.

Shannon caught Tomo's eye for a second before turning his attention back to what Jared was playing, finding a rhythm and tapping it on the body of the guitar in his lap.

Tomo played a harmonizing tune; prompting Jared to grin at them both, humming something he felt could be replaced with lyrics at some point further down the road. “You guys want to go to the studio for this? He asked, still playing and nodding his head in time to Shannon's rhythm.

Shannon liked this, being able to work on something and take his mind off everything that had been going on the last few months. He nodded, setting the guitar to the side to follow them.

 

While Tomo and Jared had their heads together, working on chord progression, Shannon pulled his drum pad out. It was exactly like he'd told Jared, too much of a pain in the ass to try and set up the drum kit. He'd never admit it, but it also hurt to look at it sometimes. He could feel the loss of his legs more obviously when he thought about sitting at the kit. "I gotta get some air." Shannon said after a while, setting the sticks on the drum pad.

"Shan? Are you alright?" Jared asked, following his brother after he left the room.

"Yeah I'm fine." he lied

He stopped in his tracks but continued to watch him. "If you don't want to talk about it, tell me. Don't lie to me."

"I just... I can't." he stopped, leaning back and grinding the heels of his palms against his eyes as if trying to stave off a massive headache.

Jared strode over, joining Shannon in the kitchen while his brother made himself a cup of coffee. "If you want to talk about it Shan, I'll listen. You know that."

“Yeah...” Shannon ran his hands over his face with a sigh. ”I just feel so fucking useless sometimes..." he finally said after several moments of heavy silence.

Jared's expression could easily be read as one of 'I know you didn't just say that to me.' He leaned against the counter. “You want to try telling that to the Echelon that have started to look at you like a beacon of hope? You're an idol for perseverance, Shannon. You're an inspiration with everything you do, a reason to keep striving onward. Even to me. Especially to me.” He waved a hand toward the studio where the three of them had been working. “You were just fucking creating music again five seconds ago with a smile on your face. Doing what you love and living life to the fullest. You're overcoming obstacles left and right. You want to say how useless you think you are? Go ahead, scream it to the wind until it's out of your system, so I can see the brother I was looking at a few minutes ago. I know he's in there."

"That's all shit you and Tomo can do just as well without me.” He said, refusing to meet Jared's eyes. On some level he knew his brother was right, but that didn't change the way he was feeling. “Mars needs a drummer that can keep up.”

"Mars started because of you Shannon, because of us. It's not Mars without Shannon Leto and it never will be. I don't care if it takes a custom built set or those surgeries to make you happy... but nothing is going to change without you. Nothing is going to happen to Mars and nothing is going to change with us. It's just the same as before. I just wish you'd start feeling that way, I'd do anything for you to start feeling that way."

"It's not the same though. It's not just the drums Jay." he said, sounding defensive. "I can't _do_ things anymore. It's stupid but I miss the most random stuff. Getting the Lucky Charms out of the fucking cabinet for example. Took me 20 minutes this morning just to do that." he was aware he was feeling sorry for himself, but he didn't really give a fuck right this second.

"Well... Our house really isn't forgiving in that respect anymore. But that's easily fixed with some renovations or something. We could make a project out of it."

He shrugged. "Might as well." _Pull yourself together Shannon._

"It'll give us stuff to do as well since things are so boring right now. We can conscript Jamie and Tomo can help too. Have mofo bring his furry little minions."

Tomo took that moment to join them in the kitchen, having began to wonder where they had disappeared to. “Are you guys talking about me? Good things I hope.”

Jared nodded "Yeah. We were talking about renovating the house and needing people to help. I thought about inviting your children and having them be helpful by carrying little boxes of nails or whatever.” He was grinning at his brilliant idea.

"That's a great idea." Tomo said with a laugh. "I'm not sure how cooperative they'll be, but we can give it a try."

"If they're okay with it, I want pictures," Jared chuckled, he always found Tomo's laugh uplifting.

Shannon watched the two banter with a small smile. Glad for a distraction, his thoughts turned dark so easily lately.

"I miss having a pet... Do you mind bringing one of them over, mofo?"

The Croatian shook his head. "No problem. You guys should think about getting another dog or something."

"Well with tour, we would never have time to..." he trailed off, the answer had came out a bit like a reflex because of how many times he'd explained it. "Though we are having a longer break with tour this time. Maybe... We could adopt a dog from a humane society? Shannon and I were talking about it the other day actually."

Shannon laughed. "That's a knee jerk answer at this point isn't it?" He had his elbows rested on the arms of the chair. "If we're gonna do any of this, the renovations or getting a dog, we should _probably_ talk to someone who knows what the fuck they're doing first don't you think?"

"Well yeah, I know.” Jared nodded. “We'd hire someone to help with the renovations." There was a long pause. "Do you want a dog, though? Could be nice."

"Yeah it could." Shannon said, thinking about some of the pets they'd had over the years. It certainly would be nice to have a dog to play with again.

"Do... You want to go look for one? We can also call someone about a renovation consultation." Jared asked, getting a childishly excited tone to his voice.

"Sure. We can go to the humane society or something, We can even take the pet whisperer with us." Shannon laughed, jokingly nudging Tomo's elbow as he spoke. “What'd'ya say mofo?”

“I'm always up for going to the humane society.” Tomo said with a grin.

Jared smiled, nodding a little as excitement started to light his expression. “We should go now!” he said decisively.

Shannon called shotgun before anyone had a second to think. "Tomo can sit in the back, or... y'know take his own car."

"Well aren't you modest?" Jared laughed.

“Obviously. They started teaching modesty after he dropped out.” Tomo teased -ruffling Shannon's hair- as they headed toward the car. Jared folded the chair into the trunk before taking his place in the drivers seat.

Jared laughed at that as well, heading toward the nearest animal shelter, teasing Shannon most of the way there simply for the sake of entertainment. It wasn't like the drummer couldn't dish it out just as much as he received it. "Alright, let's go adopt a new family member, hm?"

 


	6. Chapter 6

Shannon had no problem returning the barbs just as easily as he took them. The banter between the three was broken by the occasional laugh as they made their way through the notoriously horrible traffic of LA. When they finally pulled into the parking lot of the humane society, he followed them inside; insistent on doing the ramp on his own.

Jared watched, but let him, only holding the door open. "Where do you want to start? I just know we shouldn't get a puppy, no matter how tempting."

"Haven't got a clue. And yeah, not a puppy. Don't want to do housebreaking." he rubbed his wrist while he thought about it. "I guess we could just look around?"

He nodded at the idea, welcoming it, and walking into a room where cages and cages lined the wall. He frowned a little at the constant whines and pleas. "Maybe we can get more than one..."

"We should just get a farm and have all them." Shannon said with a small laugh, petting one's snout through the fencing. "Hire Tomo to take care of 'em."

Jared looked gleefully to Tomo, seriously considering this idea. "We could, you know..."

He laughed, shaking his head. "I was kidding Jare." he said, his attention mostly focused on a young German shepherd that seemed to be really affectionate.

"He's cute," Jared said, noticing Shannon lingering and squatted next to the cage, extending his hand. "Want to visit him?"

"Yeah." he looked around, wondering where their Croatian had gotten off to. Finally seeing him having a conversation with the girl behind the counter. "Tomo's made a friend too looks like."

Jared turned to see where the guitarist was before knitting his eyebrows. "The man's married," he chuckled, shaking his head and opening the latch for Shannon to enter the pen. "Let's see him~"

"He's probably trying to figure out how to adopt them all and not tell Vicki until it's too late." Shannon said. The dog didn't wait more than a second after Shan entered before jumping on him. Showering him with affection and slobber. "Yeah hi you."

Jared smiled at the image, joining him shortly after to sit in the corner. "I think he likes you." The dog only enforced the singer's words by jumping up into Shannon's lap and licking all over his hands.

"Can't say that I disagree." Shannon replied scratching him between the ears. He looked up when Tomo joined them. "So are you adopting the whole building Tome?"

"I wish," he laughed. "I was talking to Shelby over there -turns out she's an echelon by the way- and asked her about this dog when I saw you guys go in."

Jared gave him a curious look. “Anything interesting?”

“He was brought in after his previous owner died. Sad story. Though apparently he's been trained to be an assistance dog.”

"A what?" Shannon gave him a blank look. He'd heard of eye dogs but that was about as far as his knowledge went.

"Aren't those dogs that help you pick up stuff, get the mail, and stuff like that?" Jared asked.

"Yeah. Smart puppy." Tomo nodded with a small smile. “Though Shelby says he's pretty notorious for getting into things. His previous owner had named him Shenanigans.”

Shannon narrowed his eyes slightly feeling like he'd been set up somehow. But when the dog jumped off his lap, only to stand up and brace himself against his knees, he realized he didn't care. He ruffled the fur around its ears with a grin.

"Hm. Helpful and adorable.” Jared said, moving to sit closer his brother and scratch the dog's back. “Are you okay with that, Shan?”

"Yeah. I can deal with that." In his mind he'd already decided anyway. _Just you try and stop me._

Jared stood, leaning over to kiss the dog between the ears before leaving the kennel to go talk to Shelby about payment.

Shannon didn't follow Jared immediately. Favoring instead to stay and play with the dog a bit more, getting into a little tug of war with a piece of rope laying on the floor. The Shepard gave a small playful growl, his tail wagging so hard that it caused a wiggle to run along the length of his body. He backed up as far as he could with Shannon still holding the other end. "Rrrrrgh."

"I think this'll be good for him." Tomo said, watching the drummer play with the animal as he leaned against the counter next to Jared while they waited for the girl to get the paperwork together. "For both of you guys if I'm being truthful. But then again I might have a bias."

Jared was only half paying attention, beginning to read the paperwork he'd been handed. "It'll be a distraction. He certainly needs that, and that's all that I really care about right now. Besides, who doesn't love a fluffball?" There was a moment of quiet between them as he finished papers. "Why do you think I need him?"

"Same reason Shannon does. You both are really stressed out.” Tomo shrugged. “It's understandable but not good for you."

"If I'm not stressed about something then something's wrong with me. I need it in my life to keep me balanced." He handed the papers to the woman to process.

"I know how you work Jay. I'm not judging, it's just an observation. That's all."

Jared took the leash that Shelby handed to them, walking over and dumping it in Shannon's lap. "You planning on moving in with him or the other way around?" He teased.

"Oh shut up you." Shannon shot back with a smile, hooking the leash on the dog's collar.

Jared walked over to him, making a motion for him to come out of the enclosure and join them for a small care consultation before they left.

The shepherd bounded along with a happy yip, leading the way out of the confinement with the drummer in tow. Shannon laughed, joining his brother and best friend to get the care speech.

Once that was over with, with the addition of a couple autographs and pictures, the trio headed back to home. The dog wiggling happily as he watched out the window from his seat next to Shannon in the back.

“How do you think he's gonna like it with us?”

Shannon's attention was more focused on keeping the dog from jumping on the back of Jared's seat. "Dunno." He said, finally pulling him into his lap and wrapping his arms around the excited animal's torso. "Good I hope."

Jared nodded, chuckling as he glanced at his brother in the rearview mirror.

When they finally pulled into the driveway, Shannon let the puppy out. Watching him sniff around the yard to explore the new surroundings while he got into his chair. "He's gonna get into all kinds of shenanigans. I can already tell. Definitely an apt name.”

"Well, if he does, we'll teach him otherwise. Unless it's reasonable." Jared chuckled, setting Shannon's chair where it needed to be and then heading inside with Tomo.

Shannon called Shenanigans to come inside while Tomo held the door open, laughing as he bolted inside to explore.

Jared walked out of the room to make a few calls about the renovations to the house that they had been talking about, waving to Tomo when he excused himself to go home. He took some notes about the appointment he'd set up, before retreating to his room for a nap.

Shannon held the door open for the dog to go explore the back yard, tweeting a picture of him with the comment of 'New family member. Gonna be lots of crazy Shenanigans around here.' Then he went and folded his arms on the table, resting his head on them. It had been a long day and It was too much of a pain in the ass to try and get on the couch without some form of help but he knew Jared had gone to take a nap so didn't want to ask him. If he was sleeping it was a good thing in Shannon's mind and he was alright where he was.

Jared rolled over restlessly. Not able to get much sleep, he finally settled on walking downstairs to check on Shannon. Finding him asleep at the table, and Shenanigans sitting patiently by the glass door to be let back in. Jared pulled the door open long enough for the shepherd to join them. He pulled Shannon's chair back away from the table, hoping not to wake him. His intention being to take him to bed. Just because he couldn't sleep, didn't mean he would allow his brother the same displeasure.

When he was moved Shannon stirred, blinking a little blearily. "Hm? Jay?"

"Shh... Sleep, Shanni." he whispered fully lifting him from his chair and settling him in the bed, rubbing his brother's hair.

"Thought you were asleep." he said, shifting a little, rolling over onto his side.

"I want to be, but can't. Don't worry about it. Just get some sleep," he answered quietly, pulling the cover up over him.

"You wanna stay here?" he asked, closing his eyes again.

Jared looked hesitantly at the bed before crawling in next to him. "Alright. Maybe the extra warmth will help."

He nodded, wasn't the first time Jared had had trouble sleeping and it certainly wouldn't be the last. "Should call the puppy too." he muttered, already drifting off again.

Jared whistled a few times, patting the bed as he laid down. With Jared sandwiched between Shenanigans and his brother, it was comfortably warm. Finally allowing the trio to quickly drop off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any comments you guys have about the story so far would be greatly loved! :D


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